Faith Programs Help Teens Sort Out Sex, Morality

From CDC National Prevention Information Network

April 11, 2003

A growing number of churches and synagogues are offering sex
education as part of their religious instruction curriculum, a
movement that expanded in the 1980's when faith communities
confronted the twin crises of AIDS and soaring teenage
pregnancies. On April 2, the National Institutes of Health issued
the findings of a study of almost 5,000 teenagers ages 15-18
concluding that "teens -- particularly girls -- with strong
religious views are less likely to have sex ... largely because
their religious views lead them to view the consequences of
having sex negatively."

Faith-based sex education courses range from the Unitarian
Universalist-United Church of Christ curriculum "Our Whole
Lives," which explores subjects including homosexuality, STDs,
masturbation and oral sex, to the Southern Baptist program "True
Love Waits," which simply asks young people to promise to abstain
sexually until marriage.

"Keeping it Real!," a curriculum for black youths ages 13-17
developed by the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Rights, is
designed to foster dialogue about sexuality. Each of seven
sessions, held with parents present, studies a Bible verse, with
time spent discussing questions such as, "Have you ever had a
conversation about sex with your parents? What do you remember
thinking and feeling about those conversations?" Teenagers also
discuss "The 411 on Sex and Slang" -- a glossary of technical and
street-talk terms -- and debate hypothetical situations meant to
teach good decision-making.

Covenant Baptist Church in Southwest Washington is using the
abstinence-emphasizing "True Love Waits" for middle-schoolers and
"Keeping it Real!" for older youths. Rabbi Jonathan Stein, who
chairs the Ad Hoc Committee on Human Sexuality of the Central
Conference of American Rabbis, recast an early version of "Our
Whole Lives" with a Jewish perspective and began teaching it to
youths at weekend retreats.

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